A. The committing court shall conduct a hearing 12 months after the date of commitment to assess each respondent’s need for secure inpatient treatment. A hearing for assessment shall be conducted at yearly intervals for five years and at biennial intervals thereafter. The court shall schedule the matter for hearing as soon as possible after it becomes due, giving the matter priority over all pending matters before the court. A continuance extending the review may be granted to either the Attorney General or the respondent upon good cause shown or by agreement of the parties. Whenever practicable, the hearing for assessment shall be conducted using a two-way electronic video and audio communication system that meets the standards set forth in subsection B of § 19.2-3.1.

B. Prior to the hearing, the Commissioner shall provide to the court a report reevaluating the respondent’s condition and recommending treatment. The report shall be prepared by a licensed psychiatrist or a licensed clinical psychologist skilled in the diagnosis and risk assessment of sex offenders and knowledgeable about the treatment of sex offenders. If the Commissioner’s report recommends discharge or the respondent requests discharge, the respondent’s condition and need for secure inpatient treatment shall be evaluated by a second person with such credentials who is not currently treating the respondent. Any professional person who conducts a second evaluation of a respondent shall submit a report of his findings to the court and the Commissioner. A copy of any report submitted pursuant to this subsection shall be sent to the Attorney General and to any attorney appointed or retained for the respondent.

C. The burden of proof at the hearing shall be upon the Commonwealth to prove to the court by clear and convincing evidence that the respondent remains a sexually violent predator.

D. If the court finds, based upon the report and other evidence provided at the hearing, that the respondent is no longer a sexually violent predator, the court shall release the respondent from secure inpatient treatment. If the court finds that the respondent remains a sexually violent predator, it shall order that he remain in the custody of the Commissioner for secure inpatient hospitalization and treatment or that he be conditionally released. To determine if the respondent shall be conditionally released, the court shall determine if the respondent meets the criteria for conditional release set forth in § 37.2-912. If the court orders that the respondent be conditionally released, the court shall allow the Department no less than 30 days and no more than 60 days to prepare a conditional release plan. Any such plan must be able to accommodate needed and appropriate supervision and treatment plans for the respondent, including but not limited to, therapy or counseling, access to medications, availability of travel, location of residence, and regular psychological monitoring of the respondent if called for, including polygraph examinations, penile plethysmograph testing, or sexual interest testing, if necessary. Access to anti-androgen medications or other medication prescribed to lower blood serum testosterone shall not be used as a primary reason for determining that less restrictive alternatives are appropriate pursuant to this chapter. In preparing the conditional release plan, the Department shall notify the attorney for the Commonwealth, the chief law-enforcement officer, and the governing body for the locality that is the proposed location of the respondent’s residence upon his conditional release. If the court places the respondent on conditional release, the court shall order the respondent to be subject to electronic monitoring of his location by means of a GPS (Global Positioning System) tracking device, or other similar device, at all times while he is on conditional release.

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